Advice from a Spiritual Friend – Teachings on the Seven Point Mind Training

22 June, 2017 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

|Free

with David Midgley

Thursdays: 18:30 – 20:00 from 20 April until 29 June

Please note there is no class on Thursday 15 June.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Mind Training (Lo Jong in Tibetan) refers to a system of Mahayana Buddhist practice that aims to integrate the essential principles of the spiritual path into everyday life in a very practical, down-to-earth way. It was first taught by Lama Atisha, one of the great Indian masters who brought Buddhism to Tibet about one thousand years ago, and was passed down as a secret oral tradition until the root text for this course, The Seven Point Mind Training, was written down in the twelfth century. The text gives detailed instructions on how to integrate the precious mind of Bodhicitta into one’s everyday life through the heart practice of Exchanging Self and Others. This is a particularly suitable practice for lay practitioners with busy lives – if one follows these teachings, there is no need to view this as a disadvantage!

The root text will be explained following the detailed modern commentary by Geshe Rabten in the volume ‘Advice From a Spiritual Friend’ (Wisdom Publications, 2001).

‘Whether we find ourselves surrounded by a herd of yaks on the steppes of Central Asia or rush-hour traffic on a crowded freeway, we experience the same yearning to be free from the inner anguish of our existence, and strive to find lasting peace and well-being. These teachings on thought transformation are as applicable today as they were when Atisha first introduced them to Tibet.’ From the Introduction by Stephen Batchelor